79R8226 ESH-D

By:  Baxter                                                       H.B. No. 1708



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the applicability of state ethics laws to and 
indemnification of directors of regional mobility authorities; 
providing penalties.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter F, Chapter 370, Transportation Code, 
is amended by adding Sections 370.2521, 370.2522, and 370.2523 to 
read as follows:
	Sec. 370.2521.  FILING OF FINANCIAL STATEMENT BY DIRECTOR.  
(a)  Except as provided by Subsection (c) or (d), a director shall 
file the financial statement required of state officers under 
Subchapter B, Chapter 572, Government Code, with the Texas Ethics 
Commission.
	(b)  Subchapter B, Chapter 572, Government Code:                        
		(1)  applies to a director as if the director were a 
state officer; and
		(2)  governs the contents, timeliness of filing, and 
public inspection of a statement filed under Subsection (a).
	(c)  Subsection (a) does not apply to a director who is a 
state officer subject to Subchapter B, Chapter 572, Government 
Code.
	(d)  A director who is a municipal officer subject to Chapter 
145, Local Government Code, or a county officer subject to 
Subchapter A, Chapter 159, Local Government Code, shall file with 
the Texas Ethics Commission a copy of the financial statement filed 
under Chapter 145, Local Government Code, or Subchapter A, Chapter 
159, Local Government Code, as applicable.  Subchapter B, Chapter 
572, Government Code, governs the timeliness of filing and public 
inspection of a copy of a statement filed under this subsection.
	(e)  A person subject to Subsection (a) or (d) commits an 
offense if the person fails to file the statement required by 
Subsection (a) or the copy required by Subsection (d), as 
applicable.  An offense under this subsection is a Class B 
misdemeanor.
	Sec. 370.2522.  APPLICABILITY OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST LAW 
TO DIRECTORS.  (a)  A director is considered to be a local public 
official for purposes of Chapter 171, Local Government Code.
	(b)  For purposes of Chapter 171, Local Government Code, a 
director, in connection with a vote or decision by the board, is 
considered to have a substantial interest in a business entity if a 
person related to the director in the second degree by 
consanguinity, as determined under Chapter 573, Government Code, 
has a substantial interest in the business entity.
	Sec. 370.2523.  APPLICABILITY OF NEPOTISM LAWS.  A director 
is a public official for purposes of Chapter 573, Government Code.
	SECTION 2.  Section 370.258(a), Transportation Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
	(a)  An authority may indemnify one or more of its directors 
or officers for necessary expenses and costs, including attorney's 
fees, incurred by the directors or officers in connection with any 
claim asserted against the directors or officers in their 
respective capacities as directors or officers only if a majority 
of the directors who are not seeking indemnity find that, in 
connection with the claim, the directors or officers are not guilty 
of negligence or misconduct.
	SECTION 3.  (a)  Section 370.2521, Transportation Code, as 
added by this Act, applies beginning January 1, 2006.  A person 
subject to Section 370.2521(a), Transportation Code, as added by 
this Act, is not required to include financial activity occurring 
before January 1, 2005, in a financial disclosure statement under 
that section.
	(b)  Sections 370.2522 and 370.2523, Transportation Code, as 
added by this Act, apply only to an action taken by the board of a 
regional mobility authority on or after September 1, 2005.  An 
action taken by the board of a regional mobility authority before 
September 1, 2005, is subject to the law in effect on the date the 
action was taken, and the former law is continued in effect for that 
purpose.
	SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.